Rain fire down unto me, flesh and bone, and find me unaffected [CLAN MEETING]

Bloodstar made his way back through Windclan territory, passed Fourtrees, across the river and back into Skyclan territory completely alone. The journey to the moonstone had been a quiet one, and now he wished he'd said more. Wolfcall and Juniperlight were gone from Skyclan... and he would be the one to tell everyone. His paws ached and his legs were tired, but he was determined to make it home before the sun rose and the clan woke. The weariness seemed to slowly shed from him, like water off of a Riverclan cat's pelt, once he entered Skyclan territory and neared camp. He was Bloodstar now... He was determined to make Skyclan stronger than it ever had been and ever will be again. His clan would forge bonds with one another like no other. Their allies would be proud to have them and their enemies would know fear like they had never known it before.

Skyclan was going to change.

Bloodstar entered camp quietly and listened. Everyone was still asleep... His ears flattened against his head, but he said nothing. He climbed the tree that held Tallbranch and put himself upon it. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, letting his breath flow from him in a steady mist. He would wait until the first light broke through the tree trunks closest to the horizon before he called out for a clan meeting. His green gaze shifted to the leader's den... and his heart ached. His father was gone... He had hoped Wolfcall would have been there to guide him and council him when needed... but that was clearly not the case. Wolfcall and Juniperlight had had their own mission. Bloodstar shook his head. He had his own mission now too.

His eyes went to the elder's den, though he couldn't quite peer passed the darkness to see Smokefeather or Foxfire inside. They then went to the apprentice's den. Memories of his own apprenticeship and his siblings that were no longer alive played in his head. Mistrain... he missed his sister most of all. She had died... she had died in the medicine den when the forest burned. Murkpelt and Spottedstar too. He had thought it cruel then, that Spottedstar emerged alive when his sister and grandmother did not. The old tom had said something to him once... Something that a younger, stronger and far more arrogant Bloodstrike had thought to be nothing more than mindless ramblings of Skyclan's worst leader:

"You want me to resign? If you cared about your father... you wouldn't demand something like that. You don't know what leadership does to cats... you never knew me as anything but a leader. Leadership isolates. Leadership creates an inner turmoil that... breaks down even previously unbothered warriors. Wolfcall is deeply hurt. You think... that your pain is unique? Are you the only one who knew Mistrain and Murkpelt? I love my son. I've made a mistake. I will start over as many times as I need to... to make things right for all of us. And I'll do it before I force Wolfcall to bear the unforgiving burden of leadership."

"I'm tired of your lies, to us and to yourself, your unwillingness to fix the mistakes you've made, everything, Spottedstar."

The memory faded away and Bloodstar sighed to himself. What a naïve brat I had been... His eyes went to the medicine den where Beechface slept. Sorry we are so much alike... He gave her a bitter smile that she'd never see. A sudden light spilled out across the forest floor. It was time. Bloodstar stood on Tallbranch and readied his mind and his very soul for what he was about to announce to the clan.

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the Tallbranch for a clan meeting!" He meowed loudly, though his voice and his tone carried far more thunder and echo than it had previously. He hoped the clan would notice and gather quickly.

With a yawn, Newtspring stretched out his limbs, his body quivering slightly with the action. It was nice and warm in here, and he knew Driftpaw wouldn't mind if he waited a while to come fetch him. Curling back up, the young warrior had just enough time to wrap his tail around his nose and close his eyes before his father's voice rang out through the camp.

With a groan, Newtspring straightened his legs again and pushed himself up onto heavy paws. "A ceremony? This early?" He muttered as he padded outside, lifting his head to eye Bloodstrike. The sun had barely come up... huffing, Newtspring made his way over, sitting as close to the Tallbranch as he could. There was still a pawful of kits that needed their ceremonies... and even more apprentices running around. Stretching his jaw in a wide yawn, he wondered idly what this would end up being.

Dawnfeather, gently pawing at autumn leaves, looked up all a-fluster. What was happening?!? Should she be wor- too late, she was already worried. Where- calm down. Calm down. It’s just an apprentice ceremony. Just an apprentice ceremony. That’s it. That’s all it is.

She gingerly padded over, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. Hopefully someone would sit by her- as long as she lived, she’d never be able to get those harsh words out of her head. It had broken her fantasy, and she wanted her fantasy back.

The young warrior sat in the back of the gathering crowd, scanning it for… someone, anyone she really knew.

Spottedfrog was already awake, for some reason, when Bloodstrike called out, but even so, the thought of leaving her warm nest wasn't one she relished. The fluffy she-cat lay there for an extra few minutes, but when she saw Newtspring gather himself and slink outside, she reluctantly put her paws under her and followed with a quiet sigh. It wasn't that much brighter outside, the sun had only just risen, but even so the young warrior squinted against it, padding heavily over to Newtspring's side and flopping down beside him.

She huffed, gaze flicking up to land on Bloodstrike, and immediately her attitude shifted. By the express on her father's face, this was more than a simple ceremony. Her voice low, she nudged Newtspring with her shoulder. "He look more serious than usual, to you?"

Cricketpaw's ears immediately perked up at the call. He lifted his head only a short moment after and he paws quickly followed to trot out of the den. Glancing around for his brother, the young apprentice settled down underneath the tallbranch and looked up expectantly. Quickly, he picked up on the fact that something had happened. Regardless of what it was, that made being awoken so early forgivable. Bloodstrike had things to say and Cricketpaw was eagerly ready to listen.

Beechfaace had been up for most of the night, her stomach knotted with anxiety. Bloodstrike, Wolfstar and Juniperlight had left the other night... And Beechface wasn't so oblivious as most of her clanmates to the implications of how long they'd been gone. Either something had happened (and she'd bet on that something being Dawnhawk, because it was always him) or Skyclan... Well, she knew how long a trip to highstones took, not that anyone had seemed to recognize the length of time they'd been gone.

She didn't want to think about it, and yet her mind wouldn't stop. Juniper berries and thyme hadn't done a thing for her.

The medicine cat had just returned to her den when the suddenness of Bloodstrike's call had her jerking her head up, fur bristling on reflex. She must've only just missed him if he'd just returned, and all she wanted to do was shut her eyes and sleep.

Instead, she stumbled to paws shaky with exhaustion, wearily pushing herself from the medicine den. Dull eye scanned the clearing, and Wolfstar and Juniperlight were nowhere in sight. Bloodstrike... Bloodstar? Stood on the tallbranch, and Beechface swallowed. She eyed the massive tom atop the tallbranch with a mixture of wary hurt and anxious desperation, remembering just how poorly their last conversation had gone. Maybe he'd make good on his threat to exile her. At least it would be a way out from being a medicine cat. After a moment her eye dropped to study the ground at her paws, tail twitching uneasily back and forth. She focused on taking slow, deep breathes, trying in vain to slow her racing heart.

---

Smokefeather blearily lifted her head at the sound of a clan meeting being called, then limped her way to the entrance of the elder's den. There was something in Bloodstrike's voice that made her think this wasn't an apprentice ceremony. There was a weight to it that most callouts lacked unless it was something important. Her gaze flicked across the clearing briefly, noting the ball of tension that was Beechface, hunched outside her den. She watched her daughter for a moment, concern lighting her expression before she turned her gaze towards Bloodstrike. Beechface's problems were her own to work through, and now wasn't the time to try and coax conversation out of the irascible medicine cat anyways. Soon, though... Soon she was going to have to drag Beechface and Bloodstrike somewhere and force them to talk. Easier said than done, of course. But something needed to change.

Driftpaw's dark ear flicked at the sound of Bloodstrike's voice, interrupting a pleasant dream he had been having. He was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but... something told him this time was different. Yawning, the white and gray cat got to his paws, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

Cats were already gathering before the Tallbranch. Driftpaw spotted his mentor's bulky form and padded over to sit next to him, giving another wide yawn. Pale green eyes cast a curious, questioning look towards Newtspring, then trailed up towards Bloodstrike. He looked more serious than usual. Driftpaw frowned. It must be something important.

Ravenclaw was woken from another night of restless sleep by the call of Bloodstrike. She opened her weary eyes and stumbled out of the warrior's den, finding a spot to sit alone. She had been sleeping poorly for quite awhile, and the reasons were pretty obvious. Still, she did her best to shake it off and listen to whatever Bloodstrike had to say.

Dandelionflight sleepily walked out off the warrior’s den. The call for a clan meeting had awoken her from her peaceful sleep, and she wished she could go back into her warm nest. The cold Leaf-fall chill would soon have her wide awake, though. Scanning the crowd, Dandelionflight spotted the golden pelt of Dawnfeather. She trotted up to her friend and sat down. She looked up to Bloodstrike and noticed a much too serious expression for a ceremony. She pondered over this thought while she waited for the meeting to continue.

Hailpaw blinked awake at the sound of a meeting call, a groaning whine rising from his throat in protest. He didn't want to get up, but a meeting at this time would have to be important. If it was just a warrior or apprentice ceremony, Bloodstrike would have picked a more reasonable hour... hopefully.

Reluctantly, Hailpaw lifted himself up onto his paws, stretching a bit more dramatically than necessary before wandering out of the apprentice den. Other cats were staring to gather beneath Tallbranch and he sleepily padded over to join them, his eyes resting upon the brown pelt of the deputy above them. Hopefully this was significant enough to wake him up.

Oliverain had just dragged her paws into the warrior's den when the call of Bloodstrike echoed throughout the camp. She flicked her tail before turning around, sitting down at the Tallbranch before anyone else. As more cats began to fill out the crowd she saw Dawnfeather, who looked rather nervous. Is there something she knows but I don't? she asked herself. Oliverain moved, settling down again by the golden warrior just after Dandelionflight did. Raising her head up towards Bloodstrike she then laid her tail on Dawnfeather's, attempting to support her friend with whatever was troubling her. It reminded Oliverain of when they visited the Moonlit Creek, where Dawn told her of her crush. Maybe this is Beetlepaw's ceremony! Oh but that's Wolfstar's job ain't it, she thought as she waited for the deputy to begin the meeting, Though Bloodstrike has seemed to be taking over Wolfstar's duties a bit, perhaps this is one of those times.

At Spottedfrog's approach, Newtspring let out a bleary hum, narrowing his eyes to give Bloodstrike a more critical stare. "Dunno... didn't think 'bout it. Guess you're right though... think somethin' happened?" He kept his voice low, mostly to keep their father from hearing, but Driftpaw's stumbling approach made his voice drop further. Turning, he offered his apprentice a nod, flicking the little tom's shoulder with his tail before refocusing on his sister.

Lynxpetal exited the nursery with a few tired blinks. The kits were still fast asleep so she wasn’t too worried about slipping out. Besides, Bloodstrike hadn’t talked to her or any of the queens about prepping one of the kits for an apprentice ceremony, so it seemed something different was afoot. The dark tabby found a seat next to Smokefeather, brushing her pelt slightly against the elder’s, and began smoothing down some wayward patches of fur along her forelegs.

“Strange,” Lynxpetal remarked casually, fully aware that the rest of the Clan was also murmuring about the meeting and that their questions would be answered soon.

Smokefeather offered Lynxpetal a warm smile as she padded over and sat beside her. The newly-named queen was a much needed calmingly influence over the clan and had integrated herself into the clan well.

"Mhmm." She hummed in agreement, "You can hear it in his voice... And ceremonies aren't normally held so early. Something must've happened." She mewed softly. A few of their clanmates seemed to be murmuring about it, and Smokefeather's eyes drifted towards Beechface again, the medicine cat was usually a ball of tension on a good day... And it seemed like a 'good day' wasn't on the table for her today. "Something has her tail in a twist, too. She's more stressed than usual." And that was saying something, given the medicine cat's demeanor over the last few moons. Attempts to talk to Beechface had seemingly fallen on deaf ears, and Smokefeather had little idea of what she could do to help.

Ashstorm woke up when Bloodstrike called.  At first she wondered if she just slept in, which was very unusual for her, but when she looked at the other cats she saw that the all were just waking up as well.  So, now she wondered why an apprentice ceremony was going on this early.  Was this an apprentice ceremony?  She really could not be sure, but she did wonder why this meeting was called so early.  She yawned, and stretched, and she walked out of the den.  She strode towards the Tallbranch, trying her best to keep her tired eyes open.